Maharaja Ranjit Singh was the ruler of Sukarchakia Misl (Principality) from 1790 to 1799 AD. He occupied Lahore on July 7, 1799, and established a great Sikh State in the Punjab – the land of five rivers.

Henry Thoby Prinsep refers to the territorial possessions of the Sikh Kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1799-1839), as consisting of the entire Punjab between the rivers Satluj and Indus, Kashmir and the vassal territories in the Himalayas, including Ladakh, 45 ta’alluqas on the British side of the Satluj and Peshawar, Dehra-Ismail Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan across the river Indus.

In addition, the large districts which did not fall under any Province were Kangra, Jalandhar Doab, Majha, Wazirabad, Jhang, Pind Dadan Khan, Gujrat, Rajauri, Punchh, Hazara, Bannu Kohat Tank, Dehra Ismail Khan and Dehra Ghazi Khan. They were all governed by Nazims.

Baron Charles Hugel writes, “Never perhaps was so large an empire founded by one man with so little criminality; when we consider the country and the uncivilized people with whom he had to deal, his mild government must be regarded with feelings of astonishment.”

A brief account of Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh is given in the following statement:-

1. Name : Ranjit Singh (Original name Budh Singh)

2. Date of Birth : November 13, 1780.

3. Place of Birth : Gujranwala (Pakistan). According to one
theory, he was born at Badrukhan now in Sangrur district of Punjab, the paternal home of his mother.

4. Father : Sardar Mahan Singh (1760-1790 AD), the ruler
of Sukarchakia Misl, with its capital at Gujranwala.

Ranjit Singh captured the fort of Lahore on July 7, 1799,
and sat on the throne of the Sikh Kingdom of Punjab. He
assumed the title of Sarkar or Sarkar-i-wala on Baisakhi
day, Sunday, April 12, 1801. The Tilak ceremony on this
auspicious occasion was performed by Baba Sahib Singh
Bedi.

9. Occupation and Annexation of Territories
(a) Occupation of Lahore
Ranjit Singh occupied Lahore on July 7, 1799 and
founded the Sovereign Sikh kingdom in the North West
of India.
(b) Territorial acquisitions
“Previously Ranjit Singh’s ambitions were few. After
conquering Lahore, they rapidly grew. Go East, Go
West, North, South, all are best.” (Dr. Hari Ram Gupta)
Maharaja Ranjit Singh conquered the following
territories and merged them into his Kingdom :-

10. Anglo-Sikh Treaties
1. Anglo-Sikh Treaty (1806)
This treaty of friendship and amity between East
India Company and Maharaja Ranjit Singh was
signed by both the parties on January 1, 1806,
according to which Jaswant Rao Holkar was to be
removed from Amritsar and, in return, the English
were not to enter the Punjab and seize any
possession of the Sikh Kingdom of Lahore.

2. Anglo-Sikh Treaty of Amritsar (1809)
This treaty was signed by Mr. Charles Theophilus
Metcalfe on behalf of British Government and
Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Amritsar on April 25, 1809.
According to this Treaty, Ranjit Singh was to
recognize the river Satluj as the boundary and to
accept the British suzerainty over his vassals across
the river, and the English were to recognize the
Maharaja as the sole sovereign on his side of River
Satluj.

3. Treaty of alliance and friendship (1838)
among British, Ranjit Singh and Shah Shuja
This Treaty was signed on June 25, 1838, by the
British, Ranjit Singh and Shah Shuja. This treaty
reaffirmed the 1833 treaty between the Maharaja and
the Shah. The objective of this treaty was the
installation of Shah Shuja as the ruler of the whole
of Afghanistan, minus Herat. Kandhar was captured
on April 25, 1839, and Shah Shuja was enthroned
on May 8, 1839.

11. Ranjit Singh obtains Koh-i-Noor diamond from
Shah Shuja – June 1, 1813
Shah Shuja, ex-King of Afghanistan and his wife
Queen Wafa Begam were reluctant to part with Koh-
i-Noor (Mountain of Light), but later on agreed to
hand over this most dazzling and unique diamond
to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Aradi Amini writes that
on the request of Shah Shuja and his wife, the
Maharaja visited their residence at Lahore and
received the peerless stone Koh-i-Noor, also called
Samantick Mani (Prince and Leader among
diamonds ) from the Ex-King of Afghanistan on
June 1, 1813.

12. Place in History
Maharaja Ranjit Singh has been likened to many
historical personages as Sher Shah Suri, Napoleon,
Bismarck, Abraham Lincoln, Shivaji Marhatta and
Haider Ali.

13. Civi1 and Military Administration
Ranjit Singh established the first indigenous,
magnificent, secular State, the Sikh Empire (also
known as Sarkar-i-Khalsa) in the Punjab in the north
west of India in 1799 AD. The Austrian traveller
Baron Charles Hugel remarked that the State
established by Ranjit Singh was the most wonderful
object in the whole world.
According to Faqir Waheeduddin, the Government
of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was divided into four
provinces, namely: Lahore, Multan, Kashmir and
Peshawar.

Outside these were a number of hill principalities which were not directly administered by the Maharaja, but paid annual tribute. Each province was divided into parganas, each pargana into talukas and each taluka into 50 to 100 mauzas (villages). Each province was administered by a Nazim (Governor), who had a number of Kardars (District Officers) under him.

All the communities of the Sikh Empire were given due share in the Civil and Military administration. The important posts in the Civil and Defence Departments were held by all such communities and suitable persons belonging to all faiths and sects, that is, Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Europeans, etc. His main consideration/criteria in selecting them was merit and loyalty.

Ranjit Singh treated his subjects equally without distinction of caste or creed. His people looked upon him not only as their protector but also as one of them.

There were several important civil functionaries at the court of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The names of prominent among the nobles, courtiers or councillors are mentioned below:

Other foreigners who held important jobs under the Sikh Kingdom included Alexander Gardner, John Martin Honigberger, Josiah Harlan Henry Steinbach, John Holmes and Dr. Benet, etc. According to Devinder Kumar Verma, the number of foreigners in Ranjit Singh’s employ was sixty two.

14. Capital Punishment and other offences
According to Dr Hari Ram Gupta (History of the Sikhs, 1739-1768, P. 319), during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1799-1839 AD), capital punishment was never inflicted even for murder. In such a case the culprit had to give away either a female in marriage to a member of the injured party or a plot of land cultivable by a plough (125 Bighas) or pay a fine of Rs.1000/-.

The violation of sexual chastity was fined by a sum of Rs.25/- while theft was punishable with a fine of an equal amount of the value of the stolen property. In view of these lax punishments it is remarkable to note that good government and order were found prevailing in country.

Even when there was an attempt on the life of Maharaja Ranjit Singh himself, no capital punishment was awarded to the culprit.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh ruled over Punjab for forty years. His subjects loved their Maharaja and their Maharaja loved them. The Punjab enjoyed peace and freedom from religious bigotry, fanaticism and persecution for the first time after the demise of Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar the Great (1556-1605 AD). On the whole, the people were happy and the Punjabis enjoyed full freedom from official interference.

DEATH OF THE MAHARAJA
Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Lion of the Punjab, passed away at Lahore on June 27, 1839, on Thursday at 5 p.m. corresponding to Asarh15, 1896 BK. By coincidence, it was just on this day (Asarh 15) exactly forty years earlier, that he had entered Lahore as a victor.

The cremation of the great King of Punjab took place just near the Badshahi Mosque and Gurdwara Dehra Sahib, Lahore. Prince Kharak Singh, the elder son of the Maharaja set the pyre alight. According to Faqir Syed Waheeduddin, there was a gentle shower after some time. A pair of pigeons came from the sky and fell into the flames.

According to Dr Gokul Chand Narang, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh died in 1839, there was universal mourning in the country and every one felt as if he had lost his own father and guardian. With his death, it was said everywhere, the Punjab had become a widow.